Lincoln, Nebraska · Est. 2020
Recording, production, arrangement, mixing, and mastering in Lincoln, Nebraska.
“To another year gone by and another year ahead.”
The point of the place
When you hear your own record, you should enjoy it and have fond memories of recording it. The room should be comfortable enough to take risks or be silly, serious enough to get the work done, and fun enough to remind us why we wanted to make music in the first place. When that feeling is allowed to flourish, I believe it comes across to the listener.
If we need a break, we’ll take one. We can play a video game, eat some tacos, light a fire in the backyard, listen to some music, play pattycake, and come back when our ears are working again.
More than once, musicians I’ve worked with have said, “I never liked recording before I recorded with you.” I’m proud of that. That’s the experience I want to provide.
The song gets the final say. If it needs us to smash something, then by God, let’s smash something. If it needs a scream, we’ll scream. If it needs a whisper, we’ll whisper.
Selected work
These short excerpts are drawn from work made with Jack Hotel and Corson Branch Buzzard Club.
Jack Hotel
Production · Recording · Mixing · Arrangement · Performance · Design
A reimagining of an acoustic song by John Walker as a dirty, Tom Waitsy electric rocker. Part of Child of God: The Songs of John Walker.
Listen to the whole thing.
Jack Hotel
Production · Recording · Mixing · Arrangement · Performance · Design
Another John Walker song, this one kept closer to its front-porch, foot-tapping acoustic roots. Part of Child of God: The Songs of John Walker.
Listen to the whole thing.
Corson Branch Buzzard Club
Production · Recording · Mixing · Arrangement · Performance · Design
CBBC’s moody arrangement of a traditional song.
Listen to the whole thing.
Corson Branch Buzzard Club
Production · Recording · Mixing · Arrangement · Performance · Design
CBBC’s interpretation of an original by Shorty Long and Susan Heather.
Listen to the whole thing.
Jack Hotel
Composition · Production · Recording · Mixing · Arrangement · Performance · Design
I composed this instrumental across distinct stages of life and view its movements as a series of bridges. It gives me a sense of tenuousness, or even vertiginousness. I hope it serves as a balance pole for tightropes in your own life.
Listen to the whole thing.
Jack Hotel
Production · Recording · Mixing · Arrangement · Performance · Design
A Weissenborn-centered instrumental composed by our steel player, Joe Salvati, in ode to the misunderstood “Bloody Mary,” aka Mary Partington.
Listen to the whole thing.The experience
We start with what the song is doing—its center of gravity, its language, its reason for being—and build from there.
I don’t want to just press record and affirm every choice. I bring a point of view, say when I think the song wants more, and gently speak up when I think something isn’t working. I want us to talk openly and have fun. That kind of participation requires trust, and I want to earn it. I’m in this out of love, and I want to be in it with you.
People make braver choices when they can exhale. The room is private, unhurried, and free of spectators.
Good records can disappear into endless possibility. We keep perspective, make decisions, and carry the work across the line.
Services
For a song that is ready to leave the rehearsal room, a performance worth capturing, or a record you want to build carefully from the ground up.
For songs with a strong core that need shape, contrast, instrumentation, or a trusted outside ear.
For tracks that are all there but don’t yet feel like one world—or don’t quite communicate what you heard in them.
For a finished mix that needs perspective, continuity, and the final preparation to live confidently beside other records.
For the last harmony, a real piano, a better guitar sound, or the one missing part that gives the arrangement its meaning.
For important performances and older recordings that deserve careful repair, cleanup, and a useful second life.
For artists who recorded elsewhere but want an attentive, musical mix process with clear conversation along the way.
The room
Future Bread is a private basement studio in Lincoln, suited to singer-songwriters, overdubs, small ensembles, mixing, and close collaboration. I spend a lot of time in here, so naturally it is curated to inspire, filled with music, instruments, books, art, and oddments.
If your project needs a grand piano, a forty-piece choir, or a room for a full orchestra, I'll say so and help you find the right place.
About
I’m Günter Voelker, a songwriter, musician, producer, designer, and bandleader stationed in Lincoln, Nebraska. As the face of Jack Hotel, I’ve played some big stages and lots of small ones, picked up a modest few awards and accolades, and found satisfaction in seeing creative projects through to completion.
Most of what I know comes from doing the work. I see arranging music, and most creative pursuits, as a conversation: a continuous, gentle but insistent process of asking emotional, curious, and strategic questions that do, in fact, have answers (which might not arrive in the form you expect).
I especially love capturing moments of discovery. Making and sharing creative work is vulnerable and humbling. I try to cultivate an environment that honors that feeling while maintaining a sense of play.
When you’re excited, I’m excited. When I’m excited, I’ll try to get you excited. That’s the sweet spot for me, and what I want from a collaboration.
The name Future Bread comes from a Jack Hotel song I wrote, “John on the Train in San Antonio,” inspired by a stranger I met on a train. In the song, the stranger raises a drink: “To another year gone by and another year ahead / Make a past and future sandwich out of past and future bread.” Accidentally profound drunken nonsense.
I have a full-time job and creative projects of my own, so I don’t take every job—and I may not be the right person for every project. When I take something on, I want to have the time, enthusiasm, and understanding to give it the right kind of attention. If you’re unsure whether we’re a good fit, hit me up anyway. And if we’re not, please don’t take that as an indictment of your work. I love artists, and I will try to connect you with someone who can help.
A tool I made
Tracker Keeper is a free note-taking plugin that lives inside your recording session. It looks and feels like a school notebook, with tabs for Notes, Checklists, Ideas, Lyrics, and a scratchpad for doodling. Those margin sketches and scribbles pass the time, but they also become part of the session—a small, sometimes funny record of the work.
Notes can be dated into a running log. Sticky notes stay visible across the notebook. Everything saves with that instance of the plugin, so you can keep one on your master bus for big-picture thoughts or put one on an individual track for focused reminders.
I made it because I wanted it. Now I’m giving it away in case it’s useful to you.
Free · Windows for now · Mac version planned
Download Tracker KeeperDownload and extract the file, then read “TrackerKeeper - READ ME!.txt” for installation instructions.
Contact
Tell me what you’re working on, where the project currently stands, and what you wish it sounded or felt like. Finished demos are welcome. Terrible phone recordings are also welcome.
